Let us discuss Tijuana Bradley
I had a difficult time coming up with
anything interesting to say about Tijuana.
Her profile is kind of just blah - not
bad, in the least, but nothing really
stands out.
So I asked people to email me (
) with their thoughts and someone pointed
me to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Pirates
had better not mess with Tijuana Bradley
In the eyes of host Jeff Probst, St.
Louisan and "Survivor: Pearl Islands"
castaway Tijuana Bradley is hard to forget.
"Talk about your hot people - she is
beautiful," Probst says of Bradley, 27,
one of 16 members of what's being labeled
the hottest "Survivor" cast ever. He goes
so far as to call Bradley, a former Miss
Webster Groves and St. Louis University
cheerleader, "one of the most beautiful
girls we've ever had" on the show.
As the series progressed, I found myself
drawn to Tijuana. There was something
about her that captivated me. I believe
it was because each time she was shown,
she seemed even more beautiful. But since
beauty is nothing without an intriguing
personality, I reasoned it further and
realized that there was nothing she said
that struck a wrong chord with me.
I also realized that she never gave me
as much as I'd wanted. In other words,
just when they'd start featuring her on
the show, it would end all too soon. I
always wanted more. The more she talked,
the more intriguing she became. The more
she was shown, the more beautiful she
became.
And
she was never shown enough.
Continuing from the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
article:
Luckily, Bradley didn't have just beauty
to go on.
Even at age 10, as a camper at Camp Webegee
in Webster Groves, Bradley was both "very
cute and very fast," says her counselor,
David Tabscott. "She beat everybody, boys
and girls."
Bradley
also has the strength that comes from
tragedy; at age 21 she lost her mother,
then just 44, to a brain tumor, nursing
her through her final days. She returned
to college with new determination, those
who know her say, and, after graduating
from St. Louis University, quickly landed
a job selling pharmaceuticals.
Probst says of Bradley, "I think she knows
how pretty she is; she knows how to use
that smile. Talking to her, she seems
so nice, so much fun, that she's somebody
you think you'd like to hang out with."
Even Jeff Probst seems captivated by her.
Having grown up in the St. Louis area,
I have something to share about Webster
Groves high school.
I went to a very large high school, Fox
High School in Arnold, MO. Because my
school was so large, when it came to sports,
it almost always pounded the other schools
in Jefferson County. So the school district
decided to join a St. Louis county league
in order to give us a little competition.
Baseball was always successful at Fox
with basketball being a close second.
I was on the basketball team. A team considered
one of the best at the time.
Well, our first game against a St. Louis
county team was against Webster Groves.
We walked into that gym and it was already
full. Music was blaring over the loudspeakers.
Cheerleaders were dancing a most funky,
grooving dance. People in the stands were
also dancing and cheering along.
But then the team came out for their
warm-up. It was like a Harlem Globetrotters
routine. The music continued. The players
were dancing while also dribbling between
their legs, behind their backs, anywhere
and everywhere. They had a guy standing
in the middle making blind passes to the
two lines going in for layups. He was
tossing the ball behind his back, over
his head, bouncing it between his legs--
each time hitting right on the mark. To
make matters worse, it seemed like the
whole team could dunk.
All
of us white boys who could definitely
NOT dunk stood with our mouths wide open.
"We've got to play THEM?!" We
didn't want to warm up. We wanted to watch
the show!
Needless to say, we got our butts kicked.
This big, celebrated superstar team from
Jefferson County was given a basketball
lesson.
From that point on, I've always respected
Webster Groves in everything they did.
Getting back to Tijuana, not only was
she Miss Webster Groves, but she also
went on to St. Louis University. St. Louis
has two universities that are very prestigious
and VERY difficult to get in to. These
are Washington University and St. Louis
University. Anyone who attends either
of these schools must be very sharp and
have done quite well in school.
Tijuana Bradley -- she's that rare creature
on Earth that seems to be blessed with
so many talents that ALSO has a good head
on her shoulders. This is so very rare.
Often, beauty comes at the expense of
brains or an ability to reason. Brains
comes at the expense of athletic ability.
Athletic ability comes at the expense
of being able to really listen to others
and put others first. (Yes, I'm stereotyping
and yes there are MANY exceptions. But
one must admit that more people fit these
descriptions than not.)
I never got enough of Tijuana.
I recall a moment many years ago. After
playing a gig, I stepped out from behind
my drums to talk to people for a bit.
It was late -- almost 2am. All I could
think about was having to tear down and
load all the equipment into the truck.
As I stood there, a beautiful girl stepped
up to me and said, "Hi. I love to
watch you play." And then she kissed
me and walked out of the club. I never
saw her again. And I was too stunned to
chase after her.
But I was left with that lingering sensation
on my lips and that textury taste of lip
gloss. She kissed me and then just left.
I so badly wanted more.
Tijuana...
Thank you for the kiss.
